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4 Ways to Help Your Sales Team Fall in Love with Marketing Automation

So you’ve implemented a marketing automation platform (and you’re in love), but your sales team is still resistant to incorporating a new tool into their workflow. Maybe they were opposed to implementing marketing automation from the start and felt it was uprooting a system that was already working. Maybe they’re open to this new approach but can’t seem to find the time to learn the software. Whatever the reason, if your sales team isn’t using your marketing automation system, you’re missing out on one of its most powerful benefits (aligning sales and marketing), and it’s time to get them on board.

Here are 4 tips for getting your sales team excited about using marketing automation.

Think Like a Salesperson. To state the obvious, the daily routines of your sales and marketing teams are very different. The aspects of marketing automation that excite you will not be the same for them, so think about some of their daily responsibilities and what features of this platform can address their pain points. Features like Pardot’s LeadDeck can get sales reps excited about a product they may have thought was only beneficial to marketers.

Pick a Trailblazer. Pick one of your highest-performing sales reps who is also open to new ideas, and ideally, also comfortable and proficient with new technology. Make sure they understand marketing automation from a sales perspective: how it can save sales reps time, identify qualified leads and allow for more targeted follow-up. Then let this sales rep be an evangelist for the platform and explain its value to the rest of their team; it always helps to hear things from someone who truly understands their circumstances.

Create a Super Simple Drip Program. It shouldn’t take much time and can be as simple as three short emails, but create a drip program that a sales rep could use for a prospect they’ve already spoken with. Demonstrating the value by creating a tool your sales can immediately implement can win over even the harshest of critics. Be sure to get their feedback, too: your sales reps know the usual time frame that prospects prefer between touch points, so create a tool that will fit their needs.

Get Creative. Every sales team is different, so figure out your sales reps’ particular needs. Maybe they want some help updating their Twitter account, and you could add it as connector to your platform’s social posting feature. Maybe they are interested to see which prospects are visiting a particular page. Marketing automation can have many benefits beyond the basic features, so figure out how to use the insight it provides to solve problems creatively.

Above all, don’t force marketing automation on your sales team — if they understand the basics but aren’t jumping at the chance to use it, there’s a reason that they’re not seeing value. First understand their needs and then try to address these needs with marketing automation. Once your sales team understands the ways that marketing automation can benefit them, your collaborative use of this tool can improve communication and unify efforts.